Chapter 133 - The Ministry of Health's Acquisition Operation

“In terms of medicinal materials and pharmacology, I am more skilled than him, but when it comes to the medicinal material trade and the operation of a pharmacy in this time and space, I am a layman. This can be considered a complementary advantage for both sides.”

“Will the other party agree? How is the financial situation of Runshitang?”

“I’ve sounded them out,” Liu San said. “The owner of Runshitang is Shopkeeper Yang himself. Their family has been in this business for generations. This Runshitang was opened by Shopkeeper Yang’s father when he came over from Guangdong. The business has been mediocre over the years, just enough to get by. After the old man died, Shopkeeper Yang took over not long ago, and a ship of medicinal materials was robbed by pirates, making the situation even more difficult.”

“This is his ancestral property. It’s probably not very acceptable for the ancients to sell their ancestral property.”

“I’ve thought about this. The acquisition can be done through a shareholding system. We’ll leave some shares for Shopkeeper Yang, the signboard will not be changed, and the personnel will remain largely unchanged. He will still be the shopkeeper and a shareholder—he’ll also save face. Of course, we will have the controlling stake.”

Liu San continued, “After I become the owner, I can directly guide the work in a grand manner and focus my main energy on the production of Chinese patent medicines. Then, I can use their business cooperation channels to first open up the procurement channels for medicinal materials in Qiongshan County. Then, I can use their connections to go to the mainland—Shopkeeper Yang has several uncles who run herbal medicine shops or work as doctors on the mainland. I can go around, meet more people, acquire medicinal materials along the way, and recruit some professional traditional Chinese medicine processing talents to come back.”

Shi Niaoren nodded, “This is a good idea. How much budget is needed?”

“To buy this shop, including the raw materials, furniture, and inventory, it won’t cost two hundred taels of silver,” Liu San said. “But to expand and renovate, that would be a huge expense…”

“How do you plan to expand and renovate? Set up a special traditional Chinese medicine processing factory?”

“That’s not necessary. With such a good environment at the pharmaceutical factory, why would I run to the county town, which is full of pig and chicken manure, to open a pharmaceutical factory?” Liu San said with confidence. “I plan to merge the talents in the pharmacy’s preparation department into the traditional Chinese medicine workshop of the pharmaceutical factory. The pharmacy will only be responsible for the sales, procurement, and transportation of medicines…”

“Transportation?”

“Yes, Lin’gao has many wild traditional Chinese medicinal material resources, such as the Alpinia zerumbet discovered by the resource department last time, and the Gleditsia sinensis discovered by the island circumnavigation expedition team this time. In addition to meeting our own needs, they can also be exported,” Liu San continued. “I plan to move the head office to the East Gate Market after taking over and build a grand pharmacy. The old shop in the city will be a branch. In the future, we will first open branches of the pharmacy in all the markets in the county—the Ministry of Health’s medical outreach to the countryside can then be carried out under the guise of the pharmacy’s ‘resident doctor,’ which is more labor-saving and easier for the common people to trust…”

“You’re really something!”

“It’s not over yet. Through the channel of exporting medicinal materials, we will gradually expand our tentacles to various key points on the mainland, establish our own brands, and start selling the various special medicines of the pharmaceutical factory, further enhancing the reputation of the transmigrator group and ‘Australian goods.’ If one day the Executive Committee plans to play god and start a光明神教, the pharmacies that sell special medicines can be used as missionary points…”

After listening to Liu San’s ambitious and comprehensive plan, Shi Niaoren once again sighed with emotion: there were really talented people in the transmigrator group! He had such a person hidden in his own Ministry of Health.

“In that case, it seems a bit unreasonable if I don’t go and fight for the budget,” Shi Niaoren joked. “Let’s not talk about the later matters first. How much budget is needed for the acquisition, moving, and building houses?”

“This is the budget list. About four hundred taels of silver should be enough. It includes the discounted price of the medicinal material inventory, working capital, the house, and the opening expenses of the new shop.”

“Let’s make it four hundred taels. I’ll approve it for you. There shouldn’t be any problem with the Planning Committee. Silver is not a first-class material, and the amount you want is not large,” Shi Niaoren joked.

Liu San packed a box of various self-made medicines for him for clinical trials. Shi Niaoren thought this was simply skipping the animal experiments and using them directly on people—this was what you call a “Great Leap Forward.”

After coming out of Liu San’s workshop, Hu Yicheng was still tinkering with something with great interest. Shi Niaoren leaned closer to look. It was a few large glass wide-mouthed jars. One of them was sealed with gauze. At the bottom of the jar, there were suspicious green cilia floating, and on the surface of the liquid, there was a layer of jellyfish-like bacterial film, as well as some milky white translucent gelatinous bacterial colonies. The smell was not too unpleasant, sour and sweet.

The other few large jars were unremarkable, filled with a dark red liquid. The liquid was a bit cloudy, and there were some foam and scum on the surface.

Seeing Shi Niaoren looking, Hu Yicheng quickly said, “Minister Shi, would you like a cup?”

Shi Niaoren was startled. This thing didn’t look drinkable at all. “What is this?”

“Kombucha, a health and nutritional drink,” Hu Yicheng was actually not very impressed with the so-called efficacy of this kombucha. It was just a pastime he did when the still was idle: now that sugar and tea were in abundant supply, and Huang Dashan’s laboratory had a wide variety of strains, he simply used it to do some side business and practice his skills.

Shi Niaoren was inclined to refuse, but he suddenly thought of his salt soda water plan, which had not yet come to fruition. Although the kvass was made by Huang Dashan from his own factory, the producing enterprises were the Agricultural Committee and the Ministry of Light Industry, and the Ministry of Health had nothing to do with it. But the concept of this kombucha was not bad…

Hu Yicheng saw the unpredictable expression on the leader’s face and did not know what he was thinking. He thought to himself that Minister Shi was indeed a very leaderly person. How could he learn such an expression? While he was admiring him, he saw Shi Niaoren’s expression change, with a sense of great righteousness.

“Give me a cup.”

“Alright, alright,” Hu Yicheng said and quickly poured a cup. Seeing the leader’s determined look, Hu Yicheng quickly said, “It’s fine. We’ve tested the composition, and there are no harmful substances. We all drink a few sips when we work overtime at night. I don’t know if there are any benefits, but there are definitely no disadvantages.”

“It’s fine,” Shi Niaoren said and tilted his head back, drinking the cup of liquid that looked like black tea.

The taste was much better than he had imagined, sour and sweet. If there was any special taste, it was a bit like sour plum soup mixed with black tea. If it could be chilled, the taste should be good.

“The taste is not bad,” Shi Niaoren commented. “What about the cost?”

“There’s no cost: just tea and sugar. The strain was made by Huang Dashan, and we can cultivate it ourselves,” Hu Yicheng found it strange. This was just for fun, what cost problem was there?

“Little Hu, this is a ‘health product,’ a health product!” Shi Niaoren became excited—he didn’t know if it was the effect of the kombucha he had just drunk. “Such a good thing can’t be left in the laboratory. We must let the broad masses of the people enjoy it, as well as our laborers. We must distribute this as a nutritional supplement to them…”

“Such a good thing?” Hu Yicheng was surprised. With Minister Shi’s cultivation, he couldn’t not know that kombucha was basically a gimmick, in the same league as Brain Gold. Did Minister Shi really think it was some kind of panacea?

“You go and discuss it with Huang Dashan right away. Get more fermentation equipment and prepare for mass production. I’ll talk to Wu Nanhai about the quota for sugar and tea,” Shi Niaoren thought for a moment. “The drinking liquid should be cleaner. Filter it and try to make it as clear and transparent as possible.”

“Alright, alright,” Hu Yicheng never dreamed that kombucha would be so to Minister Shi’s liking. “This is very easy…”

“After it’s made, I’ll talk to Xiao Zishan and supply it to everyone as a health drink,” Shi Niaoren said the words “health” very heavily. “You find Dashan and discuss writing a description of the health effects of kombucha. I’ll find someone to print it and post it in the cafeteria…”

With Shi Niaoren’s approval, Liu San’s confidence greatly increased. He changed into his blue cloth coat for house calls and herb collecting, put on his bamboo hat, and walked to the county town with his military green canvas schoolbag on his back.

Runshitang was on the only main street in the county town, not far from the East Gate. Since the transmigrator group and the county government reached a tacit understanding and coexisted peacefully, the transmigrators could freely enter and exit the county town. At first, Wu Mingjin and others were very nervous and summoned the pao-chia heads of the county capital and the three gate customs, instructing the inns, businesses, and households in the city not to let the Australians stay overnight. If they insisted on staying, they had to report to the county government for the record. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that this so-called “precaution” was just a joke. Did the Australians need to “cooperate from within and without” to attack the city?

Fortunately, the “Australians” were not interested in staying in the city. They all came during the day and left at night. After the first few weeks, the transmigrators’ curiosity about this Ming Dynasty county town had completely disappeared. Recently, except for a few people who came to the city on business, almost no one entered the city.

There were no people entering the city, but more and more people were leaving the city—not only did the Australians not enter the city, but the local county residents also entered the city less and less. The East Gate Market, with its convenient and safe transportation facilities and a wide variety of goods, attracted a large number of local villagers. In addition, with the transmigrators’ strong support for the East Gate Market, the popularity of the East Gate Market was getting better and better, while the county market was becoming more and more deserted. Many shopkeepers sent people to the East Gate Market to open a branch or set up a stall, and some simply moved there directly.

The business of the herbal medicine shop, Runshitang, was still passable. It was the only pharmacy in the local area, with no branches. The few medicine stalls or traditional Chinese medicine doctors who prepared their own medicine mostly bought their supplies from him. The reason was simple: most traditional Chinese medicinal materials had to be processed. In Lin’gao County, only Runshitang had processed medicinal materials.

Since Liu San started growing medicinal materials on the farm, he had known about this place from the long-term workers who helped in the medicinal garden. Out of professional curiosity, he naturally wanted to see what a Ming Dynasty pharmacy looked like. As soon as the situation stabilized, he paid a visit.

The shopkeeper and the staff of Runshitang were a little wary of this “short-haired bandit” when he first came to visit. But over time, they found that although this “short-haired bandit” was from overseas, he knew a lot about medical principles and the properties of medicines, especially in the field of medicinal materials, where he had extremely rich knowledge. Since they had a common topic, they gradually became friendly.

Due to the shortage of medicine, Liu San often had to prescribe some traditional Chinese medicine for people. His self-produced medicinal materials were not complete, so he always came here to buy them, and he was also one of the shop’s major customers.

The facade of Runshitang was quite imposing, with a high roof and an open porch. A large plaque with gold characters hung on the lintel. But over time, it had begun to peel. A lot of green grass had also grown under the steps.

The entire house had a shop in the front and a workshop in the back, with a separate courtyard. It was clear that a lot of money had been spent on it back then. Liu San had heard from the shop assistants that the old shopkeeper of Runshitang came from a family of pharmacists in Guangdong. When he came to Lin’gao, he had the ambition to open a business and establish a foundation. Thinking of this, Liu San couldn’t help but sigh secretly.

As soon as he stepped on the bluestone steps, he felt a wave of coolness, which was very comfortable in the hot and stuffy weather.

“Mr. Liu is here!” a shop assistant’s greeting came from the dim shop—he was already a very familiar customer here.

Someone had already come out to greet him. It was the shop’s manager, Liu Benshan. Liu Benshan was in his fifties. He said that he had been an apprentice with the old shopkeeper since he was eleven, so he was considered an “old family member” of the shop. He handled the usual affairs of the shop.

“Business is booming!” Liu San cupped his hands in a customary greeting.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Liu Benshan didn’t mind—anyway, since he became an apprentice, the business of this Runshitang had been like this, neither dead nor alive, just getting by. They had encountered several major crises and thought they wouldn’t be able to survive, but they had managed to get through them.

Liu San glanced at the shop. The dark wooden counter was neatly arranged with various utensils, wiped clean. The copper fittings on the medicine drawers behind were also shining—no matter how deserted the business was, the rules were not compromised at all. This was also the reason why he liked to come here. There was no perfunctory or sloppy work.

If this was a bad shop, he would be too lazy to acquire it. He would just open one himself and drive it out of business.

A young assistant brought him a decoction of dried grass tea—because the business was not good, this shop had not hired any apprentices for many years. This so-called young assistant was also in his early twenties. The ancients valued lifelong employment. Once employed, as long as the business could continue and the assistant did not have any serious disciplinary violations, everyone would try to get along.

The business of Runshitang had been declining day by day since the old shopkeeper passed away, so the number of assistants had always remained at six or seven, covering all aspects of the front counter and back workshop.

Liu San took a sip of the tea. The dried grass tea of this shop was well-brewed and soaked in well water. It was clear, refreshing, and very good for relieving the summer heat.

“Is Shopkeeper Yang not here?” Every time Liu San came, Shopkeeper Yang would always come out to see him quickly—he was very interested in the medicine of the Australians, especially in the way the Australians injected medicine into the human body to treat diseases. He often asked about the principles behind it. Liu San also explained to him some of the basic principles of modern medicine, such as intramuscular injection, veins, arteries, microbial infection, and antibiotics, which made Shopkeeper Yang unable to stop. Traditional Chinese medicine shops often did not distinguish between medicine and pharmacy, and the shopkeeper and assistants knew some medical skills. They were naturally very interested in such an unprecedented new medical skill.